Whats best kind of supermarket fruit juice to add to wine?

Hi was at doctors recently and they said I was pre diabetis....I have been watching my diet carefully since and hopefully it should be ok.....I know the easy answer is dont drink it at all but we still have to live and as such I intend to go ahead and make my home brew merlot...I would like to know therefore with what I have mentioned above the best type of supermarket grape juice(low calorie or not) to add to my 30 bottle kit and how much if it. Ty

If I was in your shoes, I would go with brewing as normal and then dilute it down in the glass.

Dryer wines would probably be slightly better as less residual sugars however (I am no expert though) would guess the differences would be minimal and probably quite easy to miss your targets and make the whole thing pointless.

Low calorie additions won't add any sugar to ferment and probably also contain preservatives will affect the brew.

This also means that you can enjoy your wines with others and then just drink your wine diluted rather than all having to drink the same.

If you want to beef up your merlot then the best juice to use would be Waitrose merlot juice.

I'm full blown type 2, since 2 years ago when I arrived power sliding in and spending 2 nights in hospital with blood sugars over 30 mmols and ketones ++++ as my pancreas temporarily shut down due to over-use. :lol: Works again now though.:thumb:

My advice would be, buy a meter and strips and test 90 minutes after eating or drinking, see what your blood sugars do. This is seriously the best way to see if you need to adjust something or cut it out completely. More than a 2 mmol increase, consider cutting it out. This is how I learned that I can't eat giraffe/tiger bread.

Wine is a bit of a nightmare for diabetics though. A lot of styles just contain so much sugar!! I made a 30 bottle zinfandel style kit, added the full amount of sugar to sweeten in the instructions, and have STILL had to add a mix of white grape juice concentrate and red grape juice concentrate in order to get the right sweetness. Testing with liquid sucralose just illustrated that in wine it tastes terrible. :lol: I tested with unsweetened red grape juice too, and to get it sweet enough basically turned the wine into low alcohol squash... Now I don't drink wine overly, however I was primarily making this kit for my mother, who is also type 2 diabetic....

Oh, and one final tip, increase the amount of exercise you are getting. More activity = less surplus calories. Diabetes ISN'T just about sugars in your diet, it's also about how your body stores excess calories. Burn more off and your body has to store less. :thumb: Seriously though, I know your GP won't fund it but regular testing for at least a few months REALLY helps!

Oh, and just a heads up, grapes are the devil for diabetics. They're sugar bombs. Grape juice is even worst, as it's processed and easier to digest. Fruit juice full stop is a bit of a no no to be honest, even the unsweetened. It's FULL of sugar.

Got a scare from my doctor who found sugar in my urine. This was a big wake up call so I changed my diet and started a regular walking exercise routine and even bought a blood sugar monitor. My main '5 a day' intake was orange juice with my breakfast of wholemeal toast, unsalted butter and marmalade, with unsweetened tea. I found I was having to pee 15 times a day, even though I don't actually drink water, my main liquid intake being beer or wine.
It turns out that fruit juice and bread (not to mention marmalade at 65% sugar) are not clever things to eat, especially for diabetics and pre diabetics. In fact any processed food is generally bad for anyone, and of course smoking and alcohol don't exactly guarantee a long and healthy life either, along with being overweight and sedentary.
Apple juice is 11% sugar, but fresh apples only 5%, plus lots of dietary fibre, which slows down the absorption of the sugar. Grape juice has the highest sugar content, up to 17%. Dry wine contains very little sugar, but does have a significant calorific content and of course alcohol. I keep my mine down to 12% and always drink with food. It is claimed that red wine has some health benefits (antioxidants in the anthocyanin in the colour). Chocolate is also quite good, but only dark chocolate high in cocoa and low in sugar. Fresh fish and steamed veg with lots of raw fruit and veg. Muesli with pumpkin seeds (which cut down the need for frequent pees) ideally with green tea are a healthier breakfast.
I was slightly overweight but lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks, giving me a normal body mass index. I had fatty tissue in my liver, a tumour on an adrenal gland and lung, emphysema and symptoms of thrombosis. After extensive tests, none of this proved to be of any concern. I am also clear of bowel and prostate gland cancer, no need to take statins and don't have diabetes. I enjoy smoking and drinking, much as before and also enjoy the benefits of improved diet and exercise. My priority is to enjoy living, knowing that something will eventually kill me, whether I worry about it or not.

AdeDunn said:

I'm full blown type 2, since 2 years ago when I arrived power sliding in and spending 2 nights in hospital with blood sugars over 30 mmols and ketones ++++ as my pancreas temporarily shut down due to over-use. :lol: Works again now though.:thumb:

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I don't think I'll ever know how, 14 years ago, my pancreas threw in the towel in the most dramatic way possible such that I ended up on life-support for almost a month , yet emerged the other side with no lasting effects such as diabetes.